E-commerce Security: Six Simple Ways to Lock Down Your Website

The internet keeps improving over the years, and this means more businesses are constantly embracing technology in all forms and making the best use of the internet. One of the solid platforms of businesses today is their online visibility, which opens doors to more opportunities like internet shopping. As this progresses, it is only normal that you observe more internet criminals who hack into accounts.

No business owner would like to lose their hard-earned money through the internet, and as much as we dread this, it happens all the time. However, this isn’t enough reason to quit your internet business altogether, considering that you can always find a way around it not fall into the hands of internet fraudsters and hackers.

You are less likely to be hacked if you are well informed, and you have tight security against potential dangers. You could go over the review of BlueHost hosting or any other web hosting, and while they may give you resources and information needed for you to stay safe, you still have to take extra precautions.

Here are a few tips to help you lock down your website.

Preventing your website’s forms from becoming vulnerabilities

Your website forms could be the gateway to impending fraudulent acts, and you can avoid that by preventing them from becoming vulnerabilities. If you are not careful, you could submit a fraudulent SQL command to your site just by implementing the command to your forms. To avoid this, scan your site regularly for SQL injection vulnerabilities. Internet security companies can help with this, so you have a safer experience when customers sign up for your newsletter or fill a contact form.

Use HTTPS

HTTPS on e-commerce sites are vital in internet security and is the most secured standard in website security. Online transactions ranging from purchases to signing up for a newsletter can be protected by just implementing HTTPS. In addition to being secure, you also have an improved SEO with Google, as it now prioritizes HTTPS-secured sites. To switch to HTTPS, select an SSL certification, either from your hosting company or a merchant.

Avoid storing credit card details

Storing credit card details of customers can be very risky, and even if you must, getting a PCI Compliance Certificate should be mandatory. This certificate helps keep credit card details safe on your site. By removing credit card details from your site, you prevent your customer’s financial data from being attacked. You can rather opt for a third party payment method, like PayPal to help handle customer financial data on your website effectively.

Eradicate default passwords from your site

After setting up your site and installing everything necessary, change your default passwords to something stronger. Change the passwords for every user on the website and use something stronger and more secure. A long and complex password makes it even more difficult for hackers to get you. You can also set up two-factor authentication for every user on your site to help tighten the security. This way, they could get a one-time code in their emails or phones after entering their passwords, before gaining access to the site.

Use e-commerce security Plugins

Security plugins enforce security protection on the websites and help prevent severe attacks. It is always advisable to implement security plugins, like Astra, to ward off malicious requests and give you a safe experience altogether.

Choose a Secure E-Commerce Platform

There are so many e-commerce platforms today that choosing one can be quite a task. However, always prioritize safety over beauty or other things when choosing a platform. The platform you choose to settle for must have tight security and a firm plan to protect customers from fraud. Choose a platform that enforces strong passwords and has a secured checkout page. Also look out for the ones that discourage password guessing and implements two-factor authentication and login timeout after inactivity for a while.

Conclusion

Your website, if not well secured, can ruin your entire business. With more security features in place today, hackers aren’t resting either, and you will be doing yourself a favour by putting proper measures in place.

About the Author

Aaron Carpenter My name is Aaron Carpenter and I've been building web applications since 2002. Helping shape internet experiences for people to best match what their users are looking for, and creating web applications that become online tools to help manage businesses is what I love to do most.